Capital Growth: The Piggy Bank Project

So many elements of Capital Growth: The Piggy Bank Project lie close to our hearts – childhood memories infused with nostalgia, the central importance of money in our lives, the aspiration in saving, the use of latest technology for instant gratification, and consumer feedback.

He designed a narrow brief and sent it to selected designers, architects, industrial designers.

The task: to design a piggy bank no larger than 175mm cubed.

Surya Graf, Nest

He planned for “the gallery space as a market research tool. It’s a merge between an exhibition and market research. What the public perceives as cool, not cool, interesting, quirky, useful – all this is great for the designers involved.”

This is an exhibition with a difference. Displayed in a dark space on white plinths, ten piggy banks as individual as their creators, are displayed under spotlights.

Jon Goulder, Scrooge the Tugboat

Visitors to the exhibition are given a coin and with each object is a slot to allow them to cast a vote for their favourite work. A People’s Choice award will be given to the designer with most votes to allow them to carry the product further.

Marc Harrison, Purpose = Motivation

Designs include a hollow, conceptual receptacle from Jason Bird that holds its coins on a quirky exoskeleton.

Jason Bird, Money Bone

David Shaw’s piggy bank is unsteady, a little cross-eyed, wearing the classic scrooge expression on its face.

David Shaw, Soft Underbelly

Julian Munro has compartments within his streamlined pig for the whole family and it dissembles like a Russian doll, while Shane Thompson’s is a classic farmyard pig in silhouette within a box.

Julian Munro, Pingvinov Banka

Shane Thompson, Holy Pig!

The high technology model is from Bjorn Rust – a device that collects for charity. It glows red when money is donated, and becomes a sad blue when it is not.

Bjorn Rust, Pledge Identification Giveaway (PIG)

Lotersztain suggested, “This project offers a glimpse into new technologies that will shortly revolutionise the design industry”.